Daniel Ståhl’s WC gold throw measured a whopping 71.46.
But the strange pictures after the throw have made many think.
– I trust the officials, says Ståhl to Aftonbladet.
Daniel Ståhl knew exactly what needed to be done when he threw his, and the entire competition’s, last throw during the WC final in the discus. With the penultimate throw of the competition, Kristjan Ceh had answered for a monster throw over 70 meters, and Ståhl had the knife to his throat and he then needed to answer for one of the best throws of his career in order to return the gold.
The big confusion
Daniel Ståhl exceeded all expectations in an incredibly pressured situation. The throw measured a whopping 71.46, which was not only enough for a new WC gold. It was also a new championship record, and Ståhl has since been praised enormously around the world and in Sweden.
Daniel Ståhl himself has said that it was the best throw of his career, and that if it had been an open arena, the world record would have been possible. But many have still reacted to how far Daniel Ståhl’s throw really was. In the images that were sent out of Ståhl’s throw, the discus appeared to land further forward than where the officials measured. But everything seems to be in order.
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The explanation
Aftonbladet has spoken to Daniel Ståhl’s former coach, Vesteinn Hafsteinsson, who confirms that it is often a feeling you get from the TV sofa, that the throw is longer than in reality, and where the officials later measure.
“The human eye sees a throw on television from the side, usually 40-60 centimeters longer than it is. So it is then quite saturated. Strange, but that’s how it is,” he writes to the newspaper.
Nor does Daniel Ståhl seem particularly upset about anything. He says that he has seen the whole thing on repeat, and that everything seems to be in order.
– I have seen the throw afterwards. It is the officials who take the hit and I trust them, he says.
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